Washington DC Security Guard Resource Center

What are the powers of the Washington DC Special Police Officer?

The special powers of the DC SPO

Subject to certain condition, officers who carry a Washington DC special officer license are endowed with the ability to make a warrantless arrest.

LAST EDIT June 21, 2017

A DC Special Police Officer on break near downtown DC.

The District of Columbia does not license armed security guards. Instead, the District licenses a special class of privatized police officer known as a special police officer or SPO. These officers have the power to make a warrantless arrest and oftentimes they also have the ability to carry firearms.

The Power to Make a Warrantless Arrest

Like a private security guard, these officers are assigned to specific properties which the officer protects on behalf of his employer. Unlike most private security officers, the special police officer may make a warrantless arrest. In other words, he has the same arrest power as a regular law enforcement officer.

There is an important limitation on the arrest power of the SPO. He can only make a warrantless arrest for an offense that occurs on the property of his employer -- his jurisdiction.

Any arrest for an offense occurring outside of his jurisdiction is made in his capacity as a private citizen -- i.e. a citizen's arrest.

The SPO's arrest authority is conveyed in DC Code Title 23 Section 582(a). It reads:

A special policeman shall have the same powers as a law enforcement officer to arrest without warrant for offenses committed within premises to which his jurisdiction extends, and may arrest outside the premises on fresh pursuit for offenses committed on the premises.

The Ability to Carry a Firearm

Many SPOs also carry an armed commission. This commission gives the officer the ability to carry a firearm while within his jurisdiction. The officer can only utilize select, approved firearms.